Council traffic wardens in Telford could pay for themselves, councillors claim

It comes as proposals for Telford & Wrekin Council to take on traffic wardens were sent for scrutiny by councillors before being sent on to the council's cabinet.

A notice of motion was put forward at the full council meeting held at Telford College of Arts and Technology on Thursday by Conservative Councillor Eric Carter.

He says the council should take responsibility for civil parking enforcement powers, meaning it would take on traffic wardens as employees but also receive the money brought in by fines.

Councillor Carter said previous plans for the council to take on the powers had been thrown out for being too expensive.

But he said that by allowing the council to claim any money from fines the plans would be "self-funding".

Councillor Carter said he and Councillor Nicola Lowery, who seconded the motion, had been speaking to representatives from the police, town and parish councils and local MPs who have a vested interest in the scheme.

He said that Newport Town Council were keen to have a permanent scheme to manage parking problems in their area.

Temporarily, the town council part funds a PCSO who looks after parking one or two days a week.

But Councillor Carter said Newport was a growing town that needed to be able to police its own parking problems, which could be possible with the order.

He said: "This is not just something that affects Newport and Ironbridge, it affects everyone in all areas."

Councillor Lowery said that the plans had the support of MP Lucy Allan who had said constituents regularly contact her with concerns over parking in the area.

She said that adopting the scheme would be to the "betterment of residents."

The job of issuing tickets to motorists in Telford is currently in the hands of police or community officers.

But the council could apply for a civil parking enforcement order.

That would enable it to target problem areas, potentially increasing the number of tickets issued to motorists each year – and allowing the council to keep any fines that are issued.

The plans were put forward to be looked at by scrutiny committee before being referred to the Telford & Wrekin Council cabinet.